Monday, December 14, 2015

Christmas 2015 at Marina Mandarin

If i had to pick one place to recommend dining at this Christmas, it will have to be Marina Mandarin Singapore. The buffet spread at Aquamarine is one that will never ever fail on you. Besides being Halal certified (which is already a plus point), the spread is never-ending - from local food to freshly sliced sashimi to their extensive dessert selection, which includes their signature Durian Pengat that's worth every calorie.

This Christmas, apart from Aquamarine, their famed Chinese restaurant, Peach Blossoms, has also specially crafted a Christmas menu for diners which prefer a more oriental take to the festive season. Famed for their Chinese dishes like dim sum and double-boiled soups, the menu for this season brings the ingredients from the West, yet incorporating the flavours from the East.

From the Aquamarine spread, be sure to indulge and dig into a few servings of the XXL Seafood Ravioli in Lobster Cream and Caviar. They were not kidding when they said 'XXL' because the portioning of the Raviolis are almost palm-sized, stuffed with a generous amount of fresh lobster meat, sitting in a delicious tasty caviar cream sauce. It's Christmas after-all, and there's no reason to not be feasting.

While i normally don't enjoy turkey as much as i enjoy Christmas, the Drunken Turkey
With Chinese Wine and Wolfberry from Peach Blossoms took me by surprise. The meat of the turkey was extremely succulent and juicy, and the subtle aroma and taste of the chinese wine complimented the meat in every way possible. Truth be told, i fancied this more than the roasted version.

Other dishes which are worthy of the calorie count this festive season also includes the Festive Cold Salmon and Terrine from Aquamarine's buffet spread. The Roasted Turkey with Orange and Cinnamon, as well as the Roasted Australian Lamb Rack, coated lightly with a chocolate glaze will make good additions to the Christmas table at home his year - both available for takeaway at Cafe Mocha.

As for dessert, i wasn't kidding when i said that Aquamarine always has an extensive dessert selection. This year, they have put together a Chocolate Winter Forest - featuring a fully chocolate landscape, featuring items such as the Chestnut and Pear Yule Log, alongside gingerbread huts, marshmallow mushrooms and German stollens
, which literally left me spoilt for choice.

With everything under one roof, be it Chinese, Western or even take-away, i'll be lying if i said i wasn't impressed with what Marina Mandarin Singapore has to offer for the festive season this year. It's going to be a merry (yes, very merry) Christmas, indeed.